Inflammatory Bowel Disease on the Rise in Older Adults

A study in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report found that the prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in older Americans has steadily risen over the past 20 years, reports MedPage Today . The researchers reviewed data on Medicare fee-for-services beneficiaries age 67 and older enrolled in part A and part B, excluding health maintenance plans, with yearly samples ranging from 23.7 million to 25.6 million participants. Age-adjusted IBD prevalence increased annually by 3.4 percent for Crohn's disease and by 2.8 percent for ulcerative colitis 2001 to 2018. By 2018, 0.40 percent of the beneficiaries had received a Crohn's disease and 0.64 percent had received an ulcerative colitis diagnosis, which was most frequent among whites. The largest yearly percentage increase occurred among non-Hispanic Black individuals, at 5 percent for Crohn's disease and 3.5 percent for ulcerative colitis. IBD prevalence generally increases with age, with 10 percent to 15 percent of new diagnoses in people 60 and older. IBD also was more prevalent in women than men, and highest in large urban areas and Northeastern states. "The potential rapid increase of disease prevalence in certain racial and ethnic minority groups indicates the need for tailored disease management strategies in these populations," the investigators wrote.